Take that in for a second. First off, even before we get to Durant, Krstic a 59? You know who else is rated a 59? JaVale McGee. Darko Milicic is just two behind at a 57. Amir Johnson is a 63 for crying out loud. I’d say Nenad got the short end here. Nenad was rated a 98 in chair throwing though.

But let’s look at where KD fits in. First, the players rated higher than him: LeBron James (97), Dwyane Wade (97), Kobe Bryant (97), Chris Paul (95), Carmelo Anthony (93) and Deron Williams (92). So according to a video game, Durant is the seventh best player in the league. I certainly don’t agree.

While Durant’s 91 isn’t necessarily extremely low, shouldn’t the reigning scoring champ and MVP runner-up maybe have been in the 94-95 range? I don’t disagree with LeBron being higher, but seventh best?

Maybe it’s because Durant is on 2K11’s rivals’ cover in NBA Elite. Maybe it’s just because KD isn’t quite getting the deserved respect yet. Or maybe, it’s just a video game and this actually doesn’t matter at all.

No matter what Lamaruc Aldridge is rated, in gameplay EA has made him a combination of God, Larry Bird and Wilt Chamberlin. Plus he is incapable of comitting a foul. If he was half as good as EA makes him he would be the best PF in the NBA. And, I may have said this already, he NEVER commits fouls.

What are you guys talking about carmello is better than durant he scores consistently in the league maybe in the next two or three years (if Kevin stays consistent) than Kevin should be higher than melo but right now he is top four in the league the dude can score guys but you gotta think Kevin is the only scorer on his team so of course he will have a higher ppg

I'm not sure about the extent to which Dwight was wronged by his rating. I expect to see other centers substantially lower than him, which really makes sense - Dwight probably is a little better than his rating, but probably doesn't measure up to the best centers of all time yet - he's just better than anyone else around given the current dearth of centers in the NBA.

Durant, however, was wronged. Carmelo is super talented, but never has put it together enough on defense, shooting efficiency, or rebounding. Durant meanwhile was 2nd in MVP voting last year, became a great defender, and shot absurdly efficiently at a high volume. Carmelo might have more natural talent right now, but he isn't better by any statistical measure.

This is a great blog for the Oklahoma City Thunder, and for younger fans, this topic is perfect.Growing up, I played all the 2K video games and the rankings of the players on those games was very important.The 2K11 staff obviously has some of their stats wrong to say that Carmelo Anthony is better than Kevin Durant.Melo hasn't put up great numbers (in comparison to his draft class) since his rookie year.KD has surpassed his draft class and is competing with the big of Melos draft class.

You know, Minnesota has some interesting potential. I sort of like their roster. Does that make me crazy? I still think they're going to flame out, but that's more from other factors like inept management and Rambis only interested in winning if it's winning his way.

I'm not crazy about Flynn, but he's not terrible. And it remains to be seen if Johnson can play SG in the league. And their centers are Milichic and Pekovic, so who knows how that will go.

But Love is great, and I'd like to see Beasley get a chance at SF. And I really like Webster, Tolliver and Ridnour as bench player.

Ozark :Hmmm…Looks like Tom Chambers had a PER of 31.5 in ’97-’98 and a PER of -3.9 in ’96-97.Just goes to show what limited sample size can do to a PER.

Although Greg Odens' 2009-2010 season was short, let's not get carried away with hyperbole. Chambers played 10 minutes in 1998 and 80 minutes in 1997. Oden played 500 minutes last year, generally against other team's starters.

Nobody's even brought up PER. According to 82games, Oden had a very positive effect on almost everything Portland was doing. Rebounding, own FG%, opponent FG%, all better when Oden was on the court. Oden probably won't put up 65% TS over the course of a full season, but other than that, I don't see anything about his productivity that's way out of line.

In other words, Howard is probably very dominant in rebounding, athleticism, dunks, post defense, blocks, etc. but the game isn't weighing those things enough for his dominance to show through in the overall rating. But he would still be very good at doing the things you want and expect him to do, so it's kinda irrelevant.

My guess would be mid-range shooting is holding him back. Maybe some other things, dunno.

The overall ratings aren't necessarily indicative of how good a player is. It's very similar to any real life statistic that tries to put a single value on a player like PER, SPM, etc.

Basically, Durant's 91 is the rating it spits out after combining and weighting Durant's rating in all the different categories... layups, dunks, short/mid/long range shooting, defense, athleticism, etc etc...

It's probably better at judging relative value within the same position (PGs to PGs, SFs to SFs, etc.) than across positions simply because the game appears to weight certain skills lower. Even better are judging players who have similar skill sets like Williams vs Paul or Durant vs Carmelo.

I don't know how much positional correction there is, but I know there's some, ie passing gives less rating for big men than guards. Apparently there isn't enough tho if Howard is an 88.

DSMok1 :Ozark, Greg Oden really has been excellent when healthy. He’s a top 5 or 6 center in the league (that’s a fuzzy position, I know) when healthy. He’s better than Tyson Chandler, probably around Marcus Camby level when healthy. And that’s with quite limited experience.I’d like to hear more about your connective tissue disorder theories.

You asked for it!!!

In certain notorious photographs of Oden, it appears he may have suffered a suspensory ligament tear.

J/K, I didn't look that close.

DSMok1 - I agree he's a top 5 or 6 center when healthy, just not Wilt territory like Blazers fans like to imagine.

Bouzi - Flopping is one thing, it's gamemanship. Turning the game into an epic drama that actually hurts your team is more like Melo territory.

Ozark, Greg Oden really has been excellent when healthy. He's a top 5 or 6 center in the league (that's a fuzzy position, I know) when healthy. He's better than Tyson Chandler, probably around Marcus Camby level when healthy. And that's with quite limited experience.

He's not terrible, in fact he's pretty darn good, but I wouldn't drink the "Greg Oden had a really high PER" last year" Kool-Aid either.

If I had the time or inclination to do so, I'd wager I could go find a 21 game snippet of, say, Tom Chambers back in the 80's where he had a PER like Hakeem.

Also, if they are going to rate Melo higher than KD, did they program something into the game where he fakes an injury and then lies on the floor for 2 possessions having a terrible 2 tantrum, while all the other players ignore him and actually step over him while continuing to play, only to return to the game perfectly fine 5 minutes later?

@OzarkOden's a tremendously productive player when healthy. He still has a major fouling problem, but watching him play, his game is pretty much there (not to say that the latest injury might have set him back a bit after being away for so long). If healthy, the Blazers are championship contenders.

I actually really wonder seriously about the connective tissue disorder issue with Oden. I think the fact that they are freak injuries and occur all over and not in one specific place actually lends credence to the connective tissue disorder theory. I know he's a pretty good player when healthy, although Blazer fans like to cherry pick stats and make him look better than he really is.

I think there is still a role for him in this league, but it is going to be as a situation specific role player, I don't think he'll ever hold up well over the course of a season, but I can see a championship contender still wanting to shell out a few mill for him to come in during specific situations to help get them to the next level.

@OzarkYou would think so, but probably not. Oden is still one of those stories I like to follow. On one hand, all his injuries have been "freak" accidents - no real common theme or body part that could be wearing down over and over. On the other, I'm not sure if it's better that a guy who looks 40 has weak bones/joints all over. I know he has the talent to be the next Hakeem, but he also has the injury history of a motorcycle daredevil.

I still want to see Oden succeed, but every time he comes down from a jump on those uneven lengthed legs, I wonder if that is the last time he'll be able to jump.

So did they program in a connective tissue disorder for Greg Oden to simulate injuries?

I mean, as a physician if someone walked into my office with a complaint of multiple orthopedic injuries and with a face that looks 20 years older than stated age, connective tissue disorder is the first thing that jumps to mind...

These ratings seem insane. Dirk at 83? Like Lee or Josh Smith? That's just plain crazy. Another reason not to play video games. Dwight at 88 is funny, too. Jeff Green better than all those guys...man...who came up with these? Stevie Wonder?

@SammyOden could conceivably be rated higher, as he is great when he can play, they just need to make an exception where his injury rating is dead last and you can't turn off injuries when he is on your team.

Really interesting, though OVR ratings rarely tell the whole story. I'm fine with these ratings as long as they player are reflected well in their specifics. OVR is like PER or a box score measurement, it tries to simplify everyone to a single thing, but is always dependent on weighting of specific stats.

Howard as an 88 seems very low, but he probably takes a significant hit for his offense (or perceived lack thereof), he'll still be a monster when user-controlled. Durant at 91 seems about where I'd put him, but Melo is too high. I think he is helped by the Denver system in these games. Because the goal of programmers is to have simulations decently replicate actual seasons, Melo may have been "beefed up" to counter a problem in simulating pace.

[…] can all put up our top 100 lists or whatever, but NBA 2K12 actually gives you numbers.Last season, Kevin Durant was a 91 and Russell Westbrook an 81. I felt like that 91 was a little low for KD. This season, he’s improved, but not by much. […]